Early this morning the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences made
Guillermo Del Toro's "The Shape Of Water" the film to beat in March, leading the
way with 13 Oscar nominations including best picture, actress, supporting actor,
director, cinematography and production design.

After wins at the Golden Globes and over the weekend at the PGA Awards Mr. Del
Toro's film cemented its front-runner status decisively, as the Academy showed
its approval. The next closest Oscar contender is "Dunkirk" with a distant
eight nominations including Christopher Nolan's first for best director.

There were a series of firsts at this morning's enthusiastic, stylist
announcement hosted by Tiffany Haddish and Andy Serkis -- two actors whom many
felt should have been nominated themselves. Rachel Morrison ("Mudbound")
became the first woman to be nominated for Best Cinematography in 90 years of
Oscars history. Octavia Spencer became the first Black woman to receive
back-to-back Oscar nods after winning for "The Help" in 2012. Mary J. Blige was the
first Black woman to receive two nominations on the same day (supporting
actress, "Mudbound" and original song for the same film.) Dee Rees became
the first Black woman to receive a screenplay nomination (adapted, for
"Mudbound"). She missed out though, on a best director nomination.

Jordan Peele perhaps had the best day of all
with three Oscar nominations to his name. The first-time feature film
director scored big with the Academy for "Get Out". He is the first Black director
to achieve that feat. Mr. Peele received director, original screenplay and
producer (Best Picture) nominations, capping off a very impressive showing for
what many regard as the best film of 2017. Daniel Kaluuya was also
nominated as best actor for "Get Out", becoming only the second Black British
actor to be nominated in the category.
Although the Academy acknowledged several Black performers and filmmakers today,
there were others who had no reason to celebrate. No Asian nominees this year
with at least three actors Hong Chau, John Cho and Kelly Marie Tran in films
that the Academy did not prioritize. "The Last Jedi" was nominated for four Academy
Awards mostly on the technical side.

Greta Gerwig
became only the fifth woman to be nominated for Best Director. Ms. Gerwig
directed "Lady Bird",
which also received nominations for Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf. Ms.
Gerwig also received an original screenplay nomination.

"Phantom Thread"
did better than expected, netting six nods, including best picture, actor,
supporting actor and director. Jonny Greenwood was nominated for the
film's original score. Mark Bridges was also nominated for costume design.

Gary Oldman was nominated for "Darkest Hour", which he seems a shoo-in for after
wins at the Golden Globes and most recently the SAG Awards, on Sunday.

"Three Billboards" got less nominations (seven) than it had been predicted to by
some. Any momentum Martin McDonagh's film had before today was blighted a
little by the Academy, who despite nominating Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson
and Sam Rockwell steered clear of doing the same for Mr. McDonagh in the
directing category. He did he however, receive an original screenplay
nomination.

"Call Me By Your Name" was largely overlooked today but did net picture, actor
and adapted screenplay nominations. "The Post" was virtually dead on arrival with
two nominations, best picture and actress (Meryl Streep, expanding her record of
Oscar nominations). "I, Tonya" received three nominations, including for
Margot Robbie and Allison Janney in the acting categories, but the film did not
receive a best picture nomination.

Finally, in what might be seen as something of a rebuke of two-time Oscar winner
Kevin Spacey, the Academy nodded to Christopher Plummer for his work in
"All The Money In The
World", though Michelle Williams missed out for the same film.
Jessica Chastain was not nominated for her work in "Molly's Game" but its
first-time director Aaron Sorkin received a nod for his adapted screenplay.